Teeming-crane.



I N. 'PRANZEN & J. A. BECHTEL. TBEMING CRANE. 7

APPLICATION FILED MAR, 20, 1911.

5 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

COLUMBIA PLANIJGRAPH COUWASHXN-GTON. D. c.

N. FRANZEN & J. A. BEGHTEL.

TEEMING CRANE.

APPLICATION FILED MAR. 20, 1911.

Patented Mar. 26,1912.

5 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

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WITNESSES:

COLUMBIA PLANauRAPl-I (IO-.WASHINGTDN. DJIL N. FRANZEN & J; A. BBGHTEL.

TEEMING CRANE.

v APPLICATION FILED MAR. 20, 1911. 1,021,457, Patented Mar. 26, 1912.'

5 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

go? FIGS.

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N. FRANZEN & J. A. BEOHTEL.

TEEMING CRANE.

APPLIUATION' FILED MAR. 20, 1911. I

Patented Mar. 26, 1912.

5 SHEETS-SHEET 5.

ZZZZ INVENTQR I UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

NICKLAS FRANZEN, OF FLOREFFE, AND JOHN A. BECI-ITEL, OF TARENTUM, PENNSYL VANIA, ASSIGNORS TO PITTSBURGH PLATE GLASS COMPANY, OF PITTSBURGH,PENNSYL1VANIA,-A CORPORATION OF PENNSYLVANIA.

TEEMING-CRANE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Mar. 26, 1912.

Application'filed March 20, 1911. Serial No. 615,568.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, NICKLAS FRANZEN, of Floreffe, Allegheny county,Pennsylvania, and JOHN A. BECHTEL, residing at Tarentum, in the countyof Allegheny and State of Pennsylvania, citizens of the United States,have invented or discovered certain new and useful Improvements inTeemingCranes, of which improvement the following is a specification.

In handling articles by cranes, derricks or devices of like character inthe opera tion of various manufacturing plants, or at places whereconstruction work is in progress, it sometimes becomes desirable toalter the position of the suspended load or to tip it; and, by so doing,when the load consists of a fluid substance contained in a receptacle,to pour the content-s therefrom.

Our invention relates to improvements in the construction of devicesthat operate with the aforesaid end in view, and the object of ourinvention is to produce a device with increased efficiency andusefulness.

While our invention finds application in handling various articles, wechoose to describe it in connection with cranes that carry pots ofmolten glass from furnaces to casting tables.

In the accompanying drawings, which form part of this specification,Figure 1 is a view in elevation of our teeming machine, used inconnection with an overhead crane; Fig. 2 is a view in vertical sectionof the machine of Fig. 1, the plane of section being indicated by theline IIII, Fig. 1; Fig. 3 is a plan view of a portion of the apparatusof Fig. .1, the field of view being indicated by the line III-III, Fig.1, and in it those part-s only are shown which lie above the bottomflanges of the transverse crane girders; Fig. 4 is a view in horizontalsection, taken on the line IVIV of Fig. 1; Fig. 5 is a plan view of apair of pot clamps holding a pot in their engagement; Fig. 6 is aperspective representation of a cut-outused in connection with theteeming mechanism; and Fig. 7 is a view in elevation of our teemingmachine as applied to a cantaliver crane.

In the various figures, like parts are designated by like numerals.

Referring to Fig. 1, the glass-containing pot is indicated by theninneral 1. It is preferably carried by a suitable supporting device, asa pair of clamps 2, 2 This potclamping device may be of any desiredconstruction to accomplish the specific end in view. As herein shown,the clamping members 2, 2 are preferably steel bars, shaped throughoutthecentral portion of their extent to embrace the pot, and at their endsto extend in proximity to one another. Locking bars 11 connect theadjacent ends of the pair of clamping members when brought topot-engaging position. Each locking bar is pivoted at one end to a pottong, and its opposite end forms a tongue, extending, through a slot 13,formed to receive it, into the opposite clamping member. A pair onhangers 9, 9 are swiveled at 10, 10, to the adjacent ends of a pair ofclamps 2, 2*, at each side of the pot 1; and by these hangers the pot issuspended through chains or cables from a traveling bridge or likecarrier. The hangers are re cessed and each pair is arranged with therecesses facing one another, to the end that the hangers will notinterfere with the free turning of the pot. As illustrated, therecessing of the hangers is effected by bowing or curving themoutwardly. The pot is hung immediately from a shaft 7 by a pair ofcables or chains 5, 5 connected at their opposite .ends with theupperends of each pair of hangers and passing over sheaves 6, 6*, whichturn freely on the shaft 7; and, through shaft 7, the pot is hungmediately from the bridge 30 by a pair of chains or The chains 8, 8",pass over idlers 28, 28?, mounted on the bridge 30, and are wound andunwound upon positively driven drums 27, 27*, carried on the bridge 30,to raise and lower the pot, as is necessary or desired in practice.

In Fig. 1 the pot 1 is shown in full lines in normal carrying positionand in dotted lines in its extreme discharge or emptying position.Tipping motion is imparted to the pot from a driven shaft, throughcrank-andpitman connection. The driven shaft isindicated at 18, and itis provided with a pair of crank disks 17, 17 Two pairs of pitmen, 3, 3,and 3, 8, are pivot-ed at one end to one of the crank disks and at theother end to a pair of pivot points at opposite sides of the pot.Preferably, the pitmen are pivoted to the pot through the pot-carryingtongs, and the pivoting may be either direct, as is indicated in Fig. 7,or through crank arms 4 carried by the tongs, as is indicated in Fig. 1.Whatever be the particular arrangement adopted, it will be understoodthat the rotating and pivoted parts are so related and adjusted as toteem the pot as well as to engage and release it. To such end the shaft18 and the tongs are laterally disposed with relation to each other, andthe pitmen extend laterally from the shaft 18 to their engagement withthe pot tongs. A motor 19 drives the shaft 18 to effect tipping. As thepot 1 is mounted to be raised and lowered to meet conditions of service,so shaft 18 also wit-h its crank disks is mounted to rise and descendand provision is made to cause it to move vertically in unison with thepot. To this end, both shaft 18 and motor 19 are conveniently mounted ona frame 20 which is vertically movable between guides 21 borne by thebridge or carrier 30, and which is suspended by cables or chains 24, 24from the bridge or carrier. These chains or cables 24, 24", are woundand unwound upon positively driven drums 25, 25 and, to the end that potand pot-tipping mechanism shall move vertically in unison, drums 25, 25are conveniently mounted on a common shaft 26,

' with the drums 27, 27 and are of equal size therewith. The shaft 26 isconveniently driven from a motor 29 borne in the carrier or bridge 30.

In Fig. 7 we have shown our teeming machine attached to a cantalivercrane and in this construction the lifting shaft 26 with its operatingmotor 29*, may be placed immediately above the truck 31. The cantaliverbeams 32 carry three shafts 28 33 and 34, upon which idlers are mounted.The tong-carrying chains 8 pass over idlers on the shafts 28 and 34; thechains 24 pass over idlers on the shafts 33 and 34; and the chains 24pass over idlers on the shaft 34. It will be understood that therotation of, the shaft 26 will wind or unwind the chains 24 and 24 fromwhich the sliding frame 20 is hung, as well as the chain 8 at the samerate, which will efiect a uniform raising or lowering of the slidingframe 20 and the pot-tongs 2 and 2. The further details of constructionshown in Fig. 7 will be understood from the description of the disclosure in Fig. 1.

The operation of the parts thus far de-' scribed will readily beunderstood. When a pot is to be picked up, the traveling bridge or craneis brought to position above it, the clamping apparatus is unlocked, andthe crank disks 17, 17* are turned slightly, to open the clamppermitting it to descend around the pot. The clamp is then lowered,closed, and locked; the pot lifted by the turning of shaft 26 andcarried by the bridge or carrier to the desired place. When suitablystationed above a casting table, as 22, and in front of a spreadingroll, as 23, the pot will be tipped, by the means already described, toteem the glass. As teeming progresses the bridge or carrier may be movedto distribute the glass transversely of the table and longitudinally ofthe roll.

It will be observed on examining and comparing the machines of Figs. 1and 7, that, whereas the machine of Fig. 1 tips the pot to the right forteeming, the machine of Fig. 7 tips the pot to the left; and it will beobserved in this connection that the particular points around theperiphery of the crank disk 17, at which the pitmen are connected to it,are adjusted to this end.

In the teeming operation care must be exercised to prevent the crankdisks 17, 17 from turning too far. To guard against this we haveprovided a cut-out, or switch for the electric current employed to turnshaft 18. This cut-out is shown perspectively in Fig. 6. Thecircuit-breaking is accomplished by mounting a block 35 upon the shaft18, to the end that when the proper limit of rotation has been reachedthe block will strike the. strip 37, which extends throughout the rangeof movement of the disk 17, cause the said strip to move away from thebell-crank lever 38, to which it has attachment through the rod 39. Thestrip 37 may be secured vertically to the carrier frame, in any desiredmanner familiar to those skilled in the art, to the end that it will beheld normally in the position indicated in Fig. 6, but may movelaterally when struck by the block 35. It will be seen that the movementof the said bellcrank lever will, through the rod 36, lift the arm 40from its notched engagement with the support 41 and that the arm 42 of acircuit-breaker of any desired construction and indicated at 43 willmove to effect a breaking of the circuit. Furthermore, to the end thatan adjustment may be made for altering the limitation of tipping, therod 36 is formed of two pieces, suitably connected for adjustment, as bya turn-buckle 45.

To the end that the pot may not move beyond its horizontal or carryingposition on its return movement, we provide a limiting chain or cable 44(see Fig. 1) at one or both ends of the shaft 6, one end of which cableis attached to the shaft 6 and the other end to the hanger that risesduring the teeming operation. Fig. 1 shows the utility of the cable 44,it being taut when the pot is in a horizontal position and slack whenteeming.

We do not wish to limit ourselves, in the application of our teemingmachine, to the two types of cranes shown herein, or to cranes operatingin plate-glass plants, for obviously many other applications of ourmachine may be made by those familiar with the art without departingfrom the spirit of our invention.

We claim as our invention:

1. In a machine for manipulating a suspended load, the combination of apair of tongs, a rotating member'laterally disposed with relation tosaid tongs, a pair of pitmen, each having crank connection at one end tothe said rotary member and each having pivotal connection at the otherend to one member of the said tongs, substantially as described.

2. In a teeming machine, the combination of a carrier, a pot hung fromsaid carrier by flexible suspension, a rotating shaft hung from saidcarrier by flexible suspension, operative connection between said shaftand said pot, for tipping the latter, and means borne by said carrierfor taking up and pay ing out both of said flexible suspensions inunison, substantially as described.

3. In a teeming machine, the combination of a carrier, a pair of clampssustained by said carrier, a rotating shaft laterally disposed Withrelation to said clamps, a pair of NIOKLAS FRANZEN. JOHN A. BEOHTEL.

Witnesses: ALICE A. TRILL,

FRANCIS J. TOMASSON.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Iatents, Washington, D. G.

